Friday, 20 August 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18: The line of questioning on Thai pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand during the hearing of the inquest into the death of Teoh Beng Hock this morning bordered on personal attacks and comic relief, but did not amuse those in the gallery.

Among them were PAS's Kuala Selangor member of parliament Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, who, twitting from the proceedings, described the conduct of the MACC lawyer Abdul Razak Musa, as "baffling".

“Can't take the stupidity of ridiculous questioning from the prosecutor [sic]... baffling... imagine this joker gonna be a judge one day," he remarked.

Dzulkefly was clearly not the only one questioning Razak's conduct during the proceeding, which among others tried to raise doubts on Pornthip’s credibility by asking her whether she had testified in any court outside of Thailand prior to the inquest.

But the questioning threatened to border on humour when Razak, in his attempt to raise doubts about the renowned forensic expert's academic qualification, declared that she was not qualified as a forensic expert in Malaysia because the Mahidol University from which she graduated "was not recognised by the Malaysian government".

In response, Pornthip (left) told the inquest that her university was among the top five in Asia and delivered a rebuttal to silence an enthusiastic Razak.

"You have to understand. I work for the rights of the dead, not the Selangor government," she said, drawing applause from those in the room.

On Pornthip's conclusion that there were strangulation marks on Teoh's neck, Razak pointed out that Teoh could have strangled himself as the other four doctors had found no such evidence. When Teoh's lawyer Gobind Singh Deo asked Razak to demonstrate how one could strangle himself, Razak quickly obliged, only to draw more jeers.

Razak then accused Pornthip of having the intention to attack the MACC, to which Pornthip replied she had supported her report with scientific arguments.

The fighthing mood in Pornthip finally gave way, with her throwing a questioning at Razak whether he was a lawyer, to which Razak referred to their age difference, saying although he was younger than her, he had 24 years of experience as a lawyer.

Teoh was the political secretary to Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah, and was found dead on the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam on July 16 last year, shortly after being interrogated by MACC at its office on the 14th floor of the same building.

Today's appearance by Dr Pornthip was her second at the inquest. The hearing was later adjourned, leaving the likes of Dzulkefly to wonder whether he had been attending a murder inquest or a comic sketch.

“I've enough comedy for a year! Thanks to this joker," he twitted about Razak.

Bravo...another showcase of stupidity....I almost laughed to death in the office when I read the news....Malaysia Boleh...